Protests held over city's plan to hire nearly 1,300 new police officers

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The unexpected addition of nearly 1,300 cops to New York City streets set off protests Tuesday night.

A rally at City Hall drew hundreds of people.

Many of them held signs with the word "sellout" over pictures of Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

Protesters say the $170 million could be better spent.

"We have a bunch of community centers that are being closed, we have after school programs that are being shut down, we have mental health facilities that are being shut down, we have homeless people everywhere. There are a lot of things they can do for the community to help my community," a protester said.

During last year's budget discussions the mayor dismissed the council speaker's call to hire 1,000 new officers citing record low crime rates.